eBay announced earlier this year that they would be dropping their eBay Live Auctions business on December 31, 2008 (see eBay Live Auction Format Being Retired at End of 2008). The “Live Auction” format differs from eBay’s traditional business model of scheduled, “online-only” auctions, and typically (as it relates to original props, wardrobe, and memorabilia auctions from movies and television) provides collectors the ability to bid on items auctioned “live” over the Internet, in real time, in lieu of being present at the actual auction event with people bidding in person, with the auctioneer recognizing “floor” bids, telephone bids, absentee bids, and online bids. It appears that LiveAuctioneers.com is positioning itself to absorb this business and compete in the live online auction space.
Below is the message from the LiveAuctioneers.com CEO announcing the changes to their business (LINK):
A message from Julian R. Ellison, CEO of LiveAuctioneers.com:
After a very successful and mutually beneficial 5½-year partnership with eBay Live Auctions, LiveAuctioneers.com is going to be operating as a separate entity, utilizing its own bidding system to create what is sure to be the future of the online art, antiques and collectibles marketplace. We expect the changeover to take effect on or before Dec. 31, 2008, which is the date that our current platform provider, eBay, anticipates winding down its eBay Live Auctions division.
Through our ongoing relationships with the world’s finest auction houses, LiveAuctioneers will continue to provide bidders with unprecedented levels of online access to hundreds of auctions and saleroom floors the world over. With the implementation of LiveAuctioneers’ exclusive next-generation system known as Live 2.0, you will discover how much more streamlined the Internet bidding process can be, from start to finish.
We have developed our new platform with painstaking care, analyzing each step from the bidder’s perspective. The many new features built into Live 2.0 will make it a breeze for you to source the freshest art, antiques and quality collectibles in auctions held around the world, but you won’t have to worry about having to wade through unfamiliar or complicated bidding methods. Whether you choose to leave an absentee bid prior to auction day or prefer to bid live via the Internet as a sale is taking place, it will be the same trustworthy, logically simple method of bidding you’ve always used as a LiveAuctioneers registered member.
And remember, LiveAuctioneers.com is more than just a gateway between auction houses and bidders; it’s also the industry’s leading no-fee auction-results database, used regularly by certified appraisers across the United States and abroad. Every day, the LiveAuctioneers.com online database is automatically updated to reflect the latest auction prices from our 700+ auction-house family, presented to you in an archive of millions of fully illustrated and annotated auction lots. This is a fantastic resource for anyone wishing to learn the value of their property or follow market trends to determine that they’re paying the right price for their new acquisitions.
We invite you to visit LiveAuctioneers.com often to check for updates, and don’t forget to mark Aug. 22 on your calendar – the launch date for the first phase of Live 2.0.
Your support of LiveAuctioneers during this transitional period has been overwhelming, and we are proud to serve the community that has so overwhelmingly embraced our business model since 2002.
Julian R. Ellison
Founder and CEO
I have been aware of this website for some time, in that they frequently mirror the listings of auction house catalogs listed with eBay Live Auctions (like the recent Profiles in History Hollywood Auction 32).
There does appear to be some kind of functional “hand-off”, of sorts, between eBay and LiveAuctioneers, in that today when I attempted to register on the LiveAuctioneers.com website, it redirected me to the eBay.com website, where I was greeted with this message:
Below is more information about LiveAuctioneers from their About page:
About LiveAuctioneers
LiveAuctioneers is the premier gateway linking bidders to traditional auction events broadcast in real-time via the Internet. The company’s exclusive technology and services suite connects auction houses and bidders worldwide through eBayLiveAuctions.com. LiveAuctioneers provides bidders with unprecedented levels of access to hundreds of auctions and remote saleroom floors the world over, while substantially expanding the potential bidding audience for auction houses. In doing so, LiveAuctioneers has ushered in the “clicks-and-mortar” era of auctioneering by creating a unique technological platform through which remote auction transactions can be made in a safe and secure manner.
LiveAuctioneers’ founders realized eBay’s 200-million-plus audience could deliver tremendous bidder participation to traditional auction houses worldwide. To that end, they established a partnership with eBay Live Auctions in late 2002 to help bring auction catalogs to the Internet for live online bidding. Since then, LiveAuctioneers has grown to become the second-most frequently visited auction-related Web site for fine art, antiques and collectibles, following only eBay. LiveAuctioneers now broadcasts dozens of auctions each week, encompassing millions of auction lots per year for more than 500 of the world’s finest auction houses. As auction houses have had to position themselves for online bidding to remain competitive, LiveAuctioneers has grown exponentially by providing industry-leading technology and service.
LiveAuctioneers is more than just a gateway between auction houses and bidders; it’s also the auction industry’s leading online database. Every day, the LiveAuctioneers database features thousands of items to be sold in upcoming auctions. But it also constitutes an archive of nearly 4 million auction results, illustrated by more than 28 million images. This massive data warehouse gives appraisers and researchers access to irrefutable, up to the minute auction results. It also enables decorators and interior designers to source fresh to the market items. It’s easy to use, and it’s also completely free to search. LiveAuctioneers is the most comprehensive, up-to-date resource available.
It will be interesting to see if any of the original prop-related auction houses migrate to LiveAuctioneers.com. Christie’s and Heritage Auction Galleries both use their own on-site, proprietary bidding platforms, while I have noticed some sellers (Profiles in History, Julien’s, and Hollywood Roadshow) have had their catalogs listed on LiveAuctioneers.com in the past, in conjunction with eBay Live Auctions.
Jason De Bord